Meet Cillian Murphy's Wife, Yvonne McGuinness

With all the rave reviews and Oppenheimer Oscar buzz, we imagine that the cast has been getting all the spotlight these days. Still, it hasn't prevented Cillian Murphy and his wife, Yvonne McGuinness, from keeping their romance out of the public eye.

Murphy, 47, who's known for Inception and BBC's Peaky Blinders, told People that he prefers to keep things low-key. He said, "The fame thing was never a goal. I just want to improve. If I can leave one film behind that's something that affects somebody, that's absolutely fine."

Murphy will attend the 2024 Oscar Awards on March 10, where he’s nominated for Best Actor. The question is: Will he bring McGuinness as his plus-one? Keep reading for details on Cillian Murphy’s wife, including how they first met.

1. Who Is Yvonne McGuinness?

Yvonne McGuinness

According to her official website, McGuinness is a visual artist based in Dublin, Ireland. She received her masters degree from the Royal College of Art in London, and she has made several short films, including Charlie's Place and Procession.

Her biography reads, "Her work encompasses film, performance, sculptural and textile elements, sound and writing. She has an interest in embodied experience of place and belonging by staging live, public, interventions and performances, which create surreal and dynamic moments of interaction and connection to place, time and communities."

2. How Did McGuinness and Murphy Meet?

Gilbert Flores/Deadline via Getty Images

Murphy met his wife while touring Europe, Canada and Australia for his first-ever play, Disco Pigs. He landed an audition for the play in September 1996, and it ran for nearly two years, which means the pair met during the late '90s.

In 2016, Murphy told The Guardian, "That time, making Disco Pigs, was kind of the most important period of my life. The people I met there remain my closest friends. They shaped me in terms of my tastes, in terms of what I wanted to do with my life. And it was around the same time I met my wife."

He added, "She came on tour with us. It was so exciting, 20 years ago or whatever it was—we were all just kids, trying to find our way—but such a special, special time."

3. When Did They Get Married?

Tommaso Boddi/Deadline via Getty Images

Details of their wedding haven't been publicly revealed, but we do know the couple tied the knot in 2004 at her father's vineyard, Domaine des Anges, in Provence, France, per Town & Country.

McGuiness's father, Gay, told Irish Independent, "The vineyard was under-capitalized and my then partner and I, having seen the place, decided to become involved in it. Steadily from that point on, our involvement grew more and more until, ultimately, we bought the vineyard out around 1986 or 1987."

4. Do They Have Children?

Lia Toby/Getty Images for Universal Pictures

McGuinness and Murphy have two sons together: Malachy, born in 2005, and Aran, born in 2007.

In 2016, while discussing his kids with The Guardian, he said, “We wanted them to be Irish, I suppose. It’s amazing how quickly their accents have adapted. Even within a year of moving back, they are fading into this rakish west Brit kind of thing. Which I think, hopefully, will get them lots of girls when they're 15.”

In 2020, the actor also opened up to The Irish Sun about raising two teens. He said, “Regarding empathy, I’m a father of two teenagers, and I once was young as well, so I recognize how tricky it is as a young person today in society. I think it’s a very complex time growing up, I think things are changing a lot at a very accelerated rate, and I think the idea that empathy would form part of a curriculum is an excellent idea.”

5. Is McGuinness Active on Social Media?

Instagram

McGuinness is active on Instagram, but her account is private.

Currently, Murphy isn't on social media—though it comes as no surprise, since they're both notoriously private.

Low-key romance, FTW.

The 25 Best Movies of 2023, Ranked by Our Editors